Category: 1985

The Canterville Ghost (1985)

Rating N/A
Length 55m
Release 1985 (no further details to be found)
Director William G Claxton
About The restless ghost of Sir Simon Canterville has been endlessly haunting his castle in search of a brave soul who will release him from the Canterville curse. A family then moves into the castle, and upon discovering the ghost, finds him to be quite amusing.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Trailer:

No trailer

Trick

  • At 55 minutes, the first is a little too short to do Oscar Wilde’s short story its true justice. It’s such a charming and wonderful story, that has been retold through the decades and with such little screen time, this does very little to stand out from the others.
  • I hate it when it is so obvious that the film is not being filmed in the place in which the story is set. It’s such a shame, as it is only a few establishing shots that really ruin the illusion and reveal the California home.

Treat

  • I absolutely adore the effects. Are they old and cheesy? Damn right, they are, but that’s part of the charm.
  • The cast is wonderful. From ‘that guy’ Mr Hammond spared ‘no expense’ for the narration of Jurassic Park’s tour (Richard Kiley), to Diagnosis Murder’s Barry Van Dyke and the girl that looks eerily like the one from Poltergeist. They all provide solid performances.
  • It is Mary Wickes, who viewers will recognise from Sister Act, who steals every single scene she’s in as the long standing house-keeper. Her personality wins you over so quickly that you can’t even be mad that this woman is grumbling about the invasion of American owners in her own, unhidden, accent.

Final Thoughts

A solid entry into the Canterville offerings, but I still prefer the Neve Campbell and Patrick Stewart version.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)

Rating PG
Length 1h30
Release 12.4.1985 (US release)
Director Alan Metter
About Though she’s a talented gymnast, Janey (Sarah Jessica Parker) has always followed the orders of her strict Army colonel father and stayed out of the spotlight. However, when she moves to a new town and meets the carefree Lynne (Helen Hunt), she disobeys her father for the first time in her life. With Lynne’s encouragement, Janey enters a TV dance competition — and soon finds herself with both a cute dance partner and an archrival who is dead set on getting Janey eliminated from the contest.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Trailer:

The Good

  • The story is perfect for a lazy evening watch. It has the rivalry, friendship and romance. You know what it also has? Positive male characters. Lee Montgomery’s Jeff has a father that could have easily been the toxic male stereotype, yet he’s the most encouraging of parent!
  • For any viewer who has grown up watching Helen Hunt, Jonathan Silverman and Shannon Soherty this is the most amazing ‘before they were famous’ sort of watch.
  • Of course, we can’t not talk about Sarah Jessica Parker. She was always the girl in Flight of the Navigator to me. Then she appeared in Hocus Pocus and from then on I watched most things she was in. This is just Parker at her most charming.
  • I have to give a special mention to the costume department and whoever it was that came up with Helen Hunt’s stunning head pieces. I’m not going to spoil them other than to say that she starts with dinosaurs and goes from there.

The Bad

  • The final act overuses the one song. I get that it seems that all contestants had to choreograph to the same song, but it was painful and, come on, can you imagine Strictly Ballroom or Dancing on Ice having each pair dance the same song every week?! I’ll be honest, those sort of shows are not really for me, but the same song up to 12 times? Shoot me now!

The Ugly

  • How have I only just watched this?! Why is this not spoken about more? The cast, the story, the dancing. Everything about this film screams inspiration for everything that I’ve seen, yet no one talks about it? This is not a bargain bin film and *should* be held as highly as Ferris Buller!

Final Thoughts

This film walked, so my teenage films could run. Any one who loves 10 Things I Hate About You, 13 Going on 30 or any of the teen films of the 90’s and 00’s this film is a must for you.

Cat’s Eye (1985)

Rating 15

Length 1Hr 34

Release 8.11.1985

About Stephen King tales follow a cat into a smokers clinic, onto a penthouse ledge and into a girl’s (Drew Barrymore) bedroom.

Treat

  • This is like an awesome, film version, of the Treehouse of Horror offerings from the Simpsons. Three short tales, with a connection theme running through. In this case it’s an awesome cat that had me hooked. General is like the Groot of this movie.
  • The first tale is fucked up and I took a rather sick delight in it. An update is needed for the vaping age in which its the smoker who is electrocuted. Although, I did think that if my child looked like Deirdre Barlow, using her as leverage wouldn’t do much good.
  • The middle tale is visually brilliant and the concept is something that’s been used recently in the horror movie Truth or Dare. It’s the shortest of the three and is the only one I’m not sure could ever be adapted into its own full movie.
  • The final story is the most frightening and the one that involves General the most. I was petrified throughout most of it. The music and the visuals of the creepy troll that escaped from Labyrinth will most likely keep me awake tonight. It’s amazing how much is fitted into that thirty-odd minute segment.

Trick

  • This is a personal thing that probably would go into the ‘treat’ for others, but fuck Stephen King. Fuck him up his stupid ass. All the self referential bullshit is so up his own arse and exactly why Stephen Spielberg took out all the references to himself in Ready Player One. I’ll admit its possibly because I’ll not well watched or read when it comes to King, but I know enough for it to grate.

Final Thoughts

It’s a fantastic film with two very strong narratives, excellent performances throughout and loved the fake out ending that almost saw General be the breath taker.

I have a sneaking suspicion I’ve seen this film before, for the sole reason that the window and troll are more how I remembered Labyrinth to be back before my rewatch in 1997-ish. Prior to that, I thought Labyrinth was a horror movie.

Into the Night – 15 #Jeffwatch

into-the-night01

Thanks to a wonderful Jeff Goldblum meme conversation, my love for Jeff has reignited. This was a man that was ever-present in my childhood. I’d mistakenly begged to watch the Fly and to this day I’ve not seen it all the way through.

So Friday night viewing had to be the recently Netflix added Into the Night; a 1985 thriller staring a young Jeff alongside the wonderful Michelle Pfeiffer and notable cameos from Jim Henson and David Bowie.

It’s not a great watch for those who like their thrillers fast paced. It’s almost halfway through before there is any sembilence of momentum. However, it is a brilliant nostalgia trip and an intriguing look at what life is like when you can’t be contacted through a phone.

If you asked me to describe Jeff in three words, they would be eccentric, charming and electric. The Jeff in this film is devoid of all of these (which is a testament to his ability as an actor) and is beige. His character is beige, the film is beige hell, even Bowie’s cameo is beige. Which is all good, except it means there is no character development; he’s a caterpillar and I’m disappointed that I don’t get the butterfly I know Jeff can provide.

Alas, this won’t be joining Jurassic Park as one of the #Jeffwatch repeated viewings.